Stapling machine



April 19, 1932. c. A. FLOOD sTAPLI'NG MACHINE Filed July 13, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet l Z aff/ifea@ www Pacis C'bvf? April 19, 1932.

c. A. FLQoD STAPLING MACHINE Filed July is, 192s 3 sheets-sheet 2 gael my? ners (Marv-eey April 19, 1932. c. A. FLooD STAPLING MACHINE Filed July 13, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet -1' i Patented Apr.A 19, 1932 UNITED STATES lMT1-:NT ori-*lcs CARL A. FLOOD, 0F FAMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO DENNISON vKANU'- FACTURING GOMPANY, 0F FRAMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION 0I' nassacnusm'rs STAPLING Application tiled July 13,

This invention relates to stapling machines, and more particularly to means for forming and attaching staples .such as are used for attaching tickets or simllar carriers of indicia to fabric or other material. It 1s an object of this invention, to improve the construction of apparatus of the class .described. y v

In forming a staple, such as 1s used for attac-hing a ticket to a fabric, for example, a burr is inevitably formed on the ends of the staple as a result of cutting the wire or metal ribbon from which the staple is made. These burrs tend to tear or otherwise damage delicate fabrics as the prongs of the'staple are inserted therethrough. The cost of removing these burrs and finishing the prongs of each staple to the smoothness of a needle is prohibitive so that, in order to minimizet'he effects of the damage caused by these burrs, it has heretofore been 'considered advisable -to attach the staple as near to the margin of the fabric as possible. This practice serves merely to restrict the damage to an area near the margin which, in most cases, may be conveniently discarded. Furthermore, not only do the prongs of a staple damage the fabric' during attachment, but after the staple has been attached the prongs ordinarily project suiiiciently above the fabric to catch in other pieces of fabric, or in the clothing of a person handling' the fabric, and in fact, these prongs often injure the fingers of any one handling the fabric.

Some of the more specific objects of the present invention are to provide for attaching a staple to a fabric in such a manner as to A avoid injury to the fabric during attachment and also to attach the staple so as practically to eliminate the possibility of injury to othei goods or persons due to engagement with a prong of the staple, also to facilitate the accurate determination of the points where the staple prongs will pierce the' material rela.- tive to the margin or other portion thereof to which they are aiiixed; to provide for the use of relatively lightwire `for the staple, even when the staple is to be used on the heavier materials; and to provide for the ac- Madama 1929. Serial N0. 377,938. curate and uniform shaping of the staple prongs. y

These and other objects are effected by my invention, as will be apparent from the fol- Fig. 6 is a transverse section taken along i the line'6-6 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a transverse section through one of the needles shown in Figs. 3 and 4;

Figs. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 are diagrammatic views showing the sequence of operations which occur during a complete cycle of operation of the apparatus shown in Figs. 3 and 4; and

Fig. 15 -is a diagrammatic view showing one position of the staple wedge shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

In accordance with the presentinvention the material to which a staple -is to be attached is first pierced by a suitable needle so as to open the fabric suiiiciently to permit a prong of the staple to pass therethrough, care being taken to avoid engagement with the fabric by the staple prong during insertion thereof and thus to avoid damage to the fabric during attachment of a staple. This may be accomplished conveniently by providing a passageway in the needle to receive a prong of the staple so that the needle may serve as a guard for keeping the fabric away from the prong of the staple during the insertion thereof. By employing a needle in this Inanner it is possible to predetermine accurately the exact place where the staple is to penetratethe fabric. advantage, especially on lace curtains and This aiiords a considerable openings in the lace. The prongs of the staple are preferably first inserted through the fabric and then through the ticket and are then bent over with their ends directed backwardly, or downwardly toward the ticket and disposed closely adjacent thereto. This brings the ends of the prongs adjacent the ticket where they can not damage thev fabric to which the ticket is attached and moreover, if desired, the ends of the prongs may be embedded in the ticket so as to assure positively that they will not damage other materials.

In Figs. 1 and 2 the ticket 10 has been attached to the fabric or other web 11 by means of the staple 12. The prongs 13 of this staple have had their end portions bent backwardly, or downwardly toward the ticket 11 so thatthe points of the respective prongs are directed toward the ticket and closely adjacent thereto. The backwardly directed points of these prongs may project slightly into the ticket in order to more securely fasten the same to the fabric, if so desired. It is also desirable that the end portions of the respective prongs be bent along a smooth even curve which is free from sharp angles which might form points or other projections that would be apt to engage in other pieces of fabric disposed adjacent to the fabric 11.

The apparatus for forming the staple 12 and also for attaching the ticket 10 to the fabric 11 by means of the staple 12 is shown in Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. Considering first the lower halves of Figs. 3 and 4, wherein the staple-forming and driving mechanism is disclosed, it will be observed that this mechanism is carried by a suitable supporting and attaching plate 16, which is adapted to be attached to a staple machine in any approved manner, as for example, by means of screws 17 Mounted in suitable recesses on the upper portion of the plate 16 and held therein y an attaching and guiding plate 18 are a pair of needles 19. These needles are disposed in spaced relation so that they may piercel the fabric 11 and separate the strands thereof to provide a suiiicient opening to permit the prongs 13 of the staple 12 to pass therethrough without tearing or otherwise damaging the fabric. These needles also permit the use of a -lighter wire for the staple than would otherwise be possible if the wire had to force its own way through the fabric, especially on the heavier materials. In order to accomplish this the needles are provided with longitudinal passages 21 which in the present instance are in the form of grooves opening on the adjacent sides of the respective needles, although of course it will be understood that any suitable passageway which will accommodate a prong 0f the staple 12 may be provided., l

The attaching plate 18, which serves asa clamp for the needles 19, may be supported in spaced relation with respect to the suporting plate 16 in any approved manner, as

y means of attaching screws 22 and 23. The lower portion of the plate 18 serves as a guide for the staple-forming and driving means. As shown more clearly in Fig. 4, a suitable anvil 24, which may be rectangular in section, or of any other desired shape, is arranged to be movable, through a recess 26 in the plate 16, into abutting relation with respect to the plate 18 and directly into the path of advance of the staple-driving means 27 which has a groove 27 in which the porltion of the wire forming the head of the staple seats.

The staples' may be formed of any approved material S, such as round or flat met-al wire or the like, .and this material is fed to the apparatus between suitable feeding rolls 28 into a guideway 29 which serves to direct a strip of staple forming material into the space between the plates 16 and 18 and below the anvil 24. This guideway may be conveniently supported on the plate 16 by means of the attaching screw 17. Previous to passing through the rolls 28, the material S is preferably wound on a spool, or other package from which it may conveniently be supplied, so that it will tend to curl downward across the staple-driving head27.

With the anvil 24 in the position shown in Fig. 4 and a strip of staple-forming material disposed beneath the anvil in the mannerjust described, the vstaple-driving means 27 is advanced suiiciently to clamp the strip of staple-formin material against the anvil 24. The stapleorming means, which comprises a forked head 31 provided with suitable grooves 32 adapted to form the prongs 0f a staple by bending a strip of material about the anvil 24, is then'advanced. The advance, or upward movement of the head 31 shears the staple-forming strip, to provide a blank of the proper length, by forcing the same past the cutting tool 33, which has its cutting edge 34 disposed adjacent the path of advance of the head 31. As shown, the screw 23 may serve to secure the cutting tool in the proper position, or any other sultable means may be employed.

The continued advance, or forward movement of the head 31 bends the staple blank about the anvil 24, and the grooves 32 in the head 31 form the prongs 13 of the staple 12. After the staple has been formed the anvil 24 is withdrawn out of the path of the stapledriving means 27 and the staple-driving means is then advanced upwardly to force the staple through the grooves 21 in the needles 19 and thence through the fabric 11. During this, operation the inherent curl of the material S will tend to keep the prongs in grooves 21 of the needles.

The manner in which these operations are Carried out will be more clearly understood from a consideration of Figs. 8 to 14. In Fig. 8 the staple-forming material has been fed into position beneath the anvil 24 as indicatedin Fig. 3. The fabric 11 has also been placed upon the needles. This fabric may be positioned manually by having an attendant thrust the Ifabric upon the needles 19, or means may be provided for accomplishing this automatically. The next step 1n the cycle of operations is shown lin Fig. 9, wherein the staple-driving means 27has been advanced upwardly to clamp the strip of staple-forming material against the anvil 24. In Fig. 10 the staple-forming plunger, or head 31 has been advanced upwardly to sever the staple-forming material to the proper length to provide a blank, by forcing the same past the cutting edge 34 of the cutting tool 33, andthe grooves 32 in the head 31 have functioned to form the prongs 13 of the staple 12 andto bring these newly formed prongs 13 into register with the lo-ngitudinal passageways, or grooves 21 ofthe needles 19. In Fig. 11 the staple-driving plunger 27 has descended sufiiciently to release the wire, or other staple-forming mate,- rial from the anvil 24` and so that the latter may be withdrawn. The ticket holding and attaching means, indicated generally atV 36,

has also descended, or advanced somewhat toward the needles 19. In Fig. 12, the ticket holding and attaching means has descended to its lowermost position wit-h the ticket 37 disposed directly above and in close proximity tothe points of the needles 19. The

points'of the needles may enter the ticket, or not, as desired. Advantages of having the needles not enter the ticket consist in that the openings for the staple are then substantially no larger than the prongs of the staple (whereas they would .be 'much larger if the needles pierced the ticket) whereby the staple remains in position more accurately with its turned over points perpendicular to the ticket and removal of the ticket and staple is facilitated. The stapledriving plunger 27 has also advanced to force the staple upwardly with its prongs following the grooves 21 in the needles 19. In this view the points o f the prongs of the staple are about to enter the tfcket 37. Continued upward movement of the plunger 27 will, therefore, force the prongs of the staple through the ticket as indicated in Fig. 13. after Iwhichthe staple-drivingv plunger 27 is allowed to descend to the position shown in Fig. 8 andthe staple-forming head 31 is also returned to its initial position and the anvil 24 is again inserted in the pathof advance of the staple-driving plunger 27, all as clearly indicated in Fig. 14. The fabric with the ticket attached thereto may then be removed from the ticket attaching means 36 either manually, or otherwise. l l

The ticket holding and attaching means 36 carries a suitable die head 38 which is composed preferably'T of the blocks 41 and 42 and is provided with grooves 39 adapted to receive the prongs ofthe staple, after the latter have passed through the ticket37, and tobend the respective prongs away from each other and backwardly toward the ticket, so

that the end portions of the prongs are di-4 rected toward the ticket and are disposed in close proximity thereto. Should it be desired to have the ends of the prongs project slightly into the ticket in order to more securely hold the same and also to preclude any possibility of having a prong engage-or otherwise catch upon a piece of material, this maybe accomplished by adjustment of either the die block or the staple driver. As previously pointed out, the grooves 39 are so formed as to be free from sharp angles which might impede the progress of the staple or produce a sharp bend which would be more likely to catch on other material. The ex-y treme end portions of the prongs may be caused to incline outwardly, if desired, as indicated by the shape of the grooves 39. Pins 39 form the inner wall of the grooves 39 and are supported by the plate 42 (Fig. 15). These pins may be fixed to the plate 42 with their ends free, as shown,` to permit the clinched staple to be withdrawn from the free ends ofthe pins or, if desired, the pins may be arranged to be withdrawn laterally to permit removal of the clinched staple. It will also be apparent that the grooves 39 provide a definite channelthrough which the prongs may be pushed and this gives a more positive action and results inthe production of staples which are more uniform than those obtained with the regular open stapling die such as has been used heretofore. y

As shown in the upper halves of Figs. 3 and 4, and alsolsomewhat diagrammatically in Fig. 15, the ticket holding and attaching means 36 comprises a member 40, which may be in the form of a plunger adapted to reciprocate vertically toward and from the pointsof the needles 19, or this member 40 may be an arm adapted to oscillate up and down, or again, this member 40 may partake of any combination of the above motions which will serve to advance and withdraw the arm with respect to the points of the needles 19. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4 the die head 38 is disposed in a recess 38 and is l prongs in the grooves 21 of the needles, these n I pron ronge would ordinarily tend to buckle, or

nd out of the grooves 21 as the ends of the vided with slots 46 which register with and are adapted to receive the needles 19 to stiffto select a en the same. The walls of the grooves 46 also serve to keep the rongs of the staples in the grooves 21 of t e needle. The army 46 may be supported in any manner so as to be movable into and out of the path of the staple-driving means 27, but in the present instance this-arm takes the form of a bellcrank member which has a lug 47 disposed in the recess 48 in the member 40 and pivotally mounted on a pin 49 traversing said recess. The arm 46 is normally held in position tot receive the needles 19 by means of a coil s ring 51, which is disposed in a recess 52 in the member and co-acts against a seat 53 provided in the upper arm 54 of the bellcrank member 46. The lower surface of the member 46 is arranged in the form of a wedge, or cam 55 s'o that, upon engagement by the staple-driving means, lthe arm 46 will be forced aside agalnst the pressure of the spring 51 (Fig. 15) due to the camming action between the staple-driving means 27 and the cam surface 55.

From the foregoing it will be evident that each of the parts 44 and 46 serves to hold the ticket on the movable head or plunger 40 while the head descends and that by using both means accurate positioning of the ticket relatively to the needles is doubly assured while permitting ready insertiony and removal of the ticket from the head, although one means may of course be used without the other if desired.

While the grooves 21 in the respective needles 19 may be onlyof suiiicient depth to permit a prong of the staple to pass therealong within the bod of the needle, these rooves are preferab y madeof a greater epth than would ordinarily be necessary in order to avoid Iany possibility of having a burr or other ragged edge on the pron come into engagement with the fabric. t will also be apparent that the fabric may be placed upon the needles when the latter are separated from the upper member 40, so that an operator will have ample opportunity ro er location for the staple to penetrate t e abrio. By means of this arrangement it is often possible to insert the staple through the natural openings in lace or like materials. Furthermore, since the operator may select the location for the ticket, it will be clear that the ticket may be attached to any portion of the fabric, either adjacent the margin or elsewhere. It will also be observed that the staple first penetrates the fabric and then the ticket so that l5 the ticket is interposed between the fabric and the ends of the staple prongs and the ticket .therefore serves to protect the fabric from being damaged by the prongs, regardless of how the pron are bent .to secure the ticket. This provides a simple and et eilicient way of attaching a fiat, non-folda le ticket to an portion of a fabric.

While on y one form of this invention has been shown and described, it will be understood that the invention is susce tible lto various changes and modications wl ich will occur to those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains, and that this invention is not limited except as indicated by the appended claims.

1. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with fixed needles having grooves therein for guidin the prongs of a staple through fabric, o means for attaching a ticket to the fabric comprising means for holding the ticket in position for attachment, means for advancing the prongs through the ticket, andmeans for bending the inserted prongs backwardly so that their respective end portions are directed toward the ticket.

'2. In an apparatus of they class described, the combination with fixed needles having grooves therein for guiding the prongs of a staple through fabric, of means for attaching a ticket to the fabric comprising means for holding the ticket in position for attachment, means for advancing the prongs through the ticket, and means for bending the inserted prongs outwardly away from each other and backwardly so that their respective end portions are directed toward the ticket and in close roximity therewith.

3. In an apparatus of? the classdescribed, the combination of one or more fixed needles for piercing fabric placed thereon to separate the strands thereof, means providing a passageway in each needle for a prong of a staple, means for holding a ticket in position ,for attachment, means for advancing each prong through its respective passageway through the fabric and through the ticket, and means for bending the inserted prong or prongs backwardly so that the end portion or portions thereof are directed toward the ticket and in close proximity therewith.

4. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a air of Iixed needles suitably spaced for piercing fabric placed thereon to separate the strands thereof to provide openings for the prongs of a staple, means providing a longitudinal passageway in each needle for the utranslation of the prong of a staple therethrough, means for olding a ticket in position for attachment and substantially in the plane of the points of the needles, means for advancing a staple, having its prongs disposed in the passageways of the respective needles, through the fabric and throu gh the ticket, means for bending the inserted pr ongs for attaching the ticket. t

5. A device as set forth in claim 4, wherein means are provided for bending the inserted1 prongs .backwardly so that their end portions are directed toward close proximity therewith.

6. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a. pair of lixed needles suitably spaced for piercing fabric' placed thereon to separate the strands thereof to provide openin s for the prongs of a staple, each. of the nee es having a groove extending longitudinally thereof to provide a passage for guiding a prong of a staple, means .for forming a staple, and means for advancing the `formed staple with its prongs disposed 1n the respective grooves.

7. In an 'apparatus of the class described, the combination of a pair of-xed needles suitably s aced apart for piercing fabric to separate the strands thereof to provide openings for the prongs of a staple, each of the needles having a groove extending longitudinally thereof to provide a passage for guiding a prong of a staple, means for severing a length of material to provide a blank,

the ticket and in for bending the blank to form a staple and'` for directing the prongs of the formed staple into position to register with the respective grooves all with a substantially continuous motion, and means for advancing the prongs through the respective grooves.

8. The combination with fixed and movable upper and lower members, of means carried by the relatively movable membervfor holding a ticket in position for attachment, means carried by the xed member for impaling material when the fixed and movable members are separated, and means for attaching the ticket to the material.

9. The combination with fixed and movable upper and lower members, of means carried by the relatively movable member for holding a ticket in position for attachment, one or more needles carried by thexed member for impaling material when the fixed and movable members are separated, and means for attaching the-ticket to the material. l v

10. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with needles havin grooves in the adjacent sides thereof for guiding the prongs of a .sta-ple, and means for` driving a staple, of an arm normally disposed in the path of the staple-driving means and having passages therein to receive the needles for stiilening the latter, means for supporting the arm for movement into and out y .of the path of the staple-driving means, and

means engageable wlth the staple-driving means for removing the arm to permit continued advance of the staple.

11. The combination as set forth in claim4 10 and resilient means for normally holding the arm in the path of advance of the staple-driving means.

12. In an apparatus of the class described', the combination of relatively fixed and movable members, means for holding a ticket on the movable member, spaced needles on the fixed member and having grooves therein for guiding the prongs of a staple, staple-driving means, anarm normally disposed in the path of the staple-driving means and having slots therein to receive the needles for stitfening the latter, 'means for supporting the arm for movement into and out of the path of the staple-driving means, and means providing a cam surface on the arm for engagement with the staple-driving means for removing the arm during advance of the staple.

13. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of relatively fixed and movable members, means for holding a ticket on the movable member, spaced'needles on the fixed member and having grooves therein for guiding the prongs of a staple, staple-driving means, an arm normally disposed in the. path of the staple-drivingI means and having slots therein to receive the needles for stiifening the latter, means for supporting the arm from the movable member for movement relative thereto and into and out of the path of the staple-driving means, and means providing a cam surface on the arm for engagement with the staple-driving means for removing the arm during' advance of the staple. v

14. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a fixed member, fixed needles on the fixed member and having grooves for guiding the prongs of a staple, the grooves having greater depth than width substantially to enclose the prong of a staple and to enablethe body of each needle to hold the strands of a fabric pierced thereby out of contact with the staple during insertion thereof, and means for driving the staple.

15. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a xed support member, needles on the fixed support member and having grooves therein for guiding the prongs of a staple, means for driving the staple, and means for holding a ticket at the points of the needles to receive the staple.

16. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of relatively lixed and movable members, needles rigid with the' fixed member and having grooves therein for guiding the prongs of a staple, means for drivl ing a staple, and means carried by the movable member for bending the prongs of the vstaple backwardly so that their respective end portions are directed toward material pieillced thereby and in close proximity therewit guiding l the sta le.

18. pparatus of thel class described, comprising members relativel movable toward 'and from each other, fixe needles on one of the members, the needles having grooves for guiding a staple, staple-driving means movable relative to the fixed needles for advanc ing a staple through the grooves,4and means on the other ofthe members for holding a ticket in position to receive the staple.

19. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a member having a pair 4of curved grooves each entering and leaving one side thereof, the adjacent ends of the grooves being spaced to receive the rongs of a staple, each groove following a su stantially semi-circular course from the staple-receiving end thereof to a point adjacent the exit end, each groove declinin outwardly from said point to the exit en thereof forA bending the tips of the prongs to cause these tips to reenter a ticket at an inclination to the same, and means for driving a Vstaple through the grooves until the tips` of the prongs of the staple protrude from the the heads move to closed position, and means for advancing a staple in the needle grooves through the fabric and ticket.

23. In an apparatus of the class described the combination of fixed needles having longitudinal grooves in adjacent sides thereof, the grooves bein open and unobstructed at the ends thereo remote from the points of the needles, means for causing the prongs of a staple to enter the latter ends of the grooves and for advancing the prongs of the staple along and within the grooves toward the points of the needles.

'Si ed by me at Boston, Massachusetts, this rstl day of July, 1929.

CARL A. FLOOD.

exit ends of the grooves for engagement with v a ticket.

20. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a member having reversely curved grooves extending into and out of one side thereof for receiving the prongs of a staple and for bending the prongs backwardly to guide the ends thereof through the grooves until they protrude from the end of the latter, means for driving a staple through the grooves, and means for holding a ticket on said one side of said member to receive a staple.

21. Apparatus of the class described comprising two heads relatively movable to'- ward and from each other between closed and open positions, means o`n one head for detachably holding a ticket or the like, and needles mounted onthe other head to project toward said ticket with their points in spaced relation tothe ticket when the heads are in open position, whereby fabric or the like may be impaled on the needles before the v heads move to closed position.

22. Apparatus of the class described comprising two heads relatively movable toward and from each other between closed and open positions, means on one head for detachably holding a ticket'or the like, grooved needles ixedly mounted on the other head to project toward said ticket with their points 1n spaced relation to the ticket when the heads are in open position so that fabric or the like may be impaled on the needles before 

